Paris police chiefs: Send in the army
CALL FOR STATE OF EMERGENCY Macron vows tough action after day of rioting
BY PETER ALLEN FRENCH police chiefs last night called for a state of emergency to be declared and for the army to take to the streets after the worst rioting in Paris in 50 years.
At least 133 people were injured – including 23 police officers – and more than 400 arrests were made during an orgy of violence across the city that lasted more than 12 hours.
The Arc de Triomphe was among hundreds of sites vandalised by anti-government “Yellow Vest” protesters on Saturday. Thugs wearing masks and carrying clubs and axes also looted shops, torched cars and smashed windows.
Police responded with water cannons, tear gas and baton charges. Frederic Lagache, of the Alliance police union, said: “We are in an insurrectional climate.”
The union have called for a state of emergency that would give police extra powers, ranging from stop-and-searches to carrying out raids on the homes of suspected rioters.
Lagache also said “army reinforcements” should be brought in to guard public monuments, freeing up the police to deal with other trouble spots.
Interior minister Christophe Castaner said: “We are studying all the procedures that would allow us to be more secure. I’m prepared to look at everything.”
France brought in a state of emergency in 2015, following terrorist attacks by Isis. It lasted until November last year.
Similar measures were also introduced in November 2005, following widespread rioting across France about housing.
President Emmanuel Macron surveyed the damage yesterday after returning from the G20 summit in Argentina.
He vowed those responsible for the violence will pay for their actions.
The spate of violence – which has spread to other towns and cities – is considered the worst since the spring of 1968, when Paris was reduced to a warzone. The Yellow Vests, who are named after the reflective jackets that all motorists have to carry in France, held their first protest on November 17 amid anger over a fuel tax hike. Since then, they have turned into a wider anti-establishment movement protesting about high living costs. Demonstrators say Macron’s government don’t care about ordinary people’s problems.